The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-02-05
INTERESTING RELICS.


Disdyeries Made Fifty-five Feet Below the
Surface of the Earth.
Sk Harrison, of the firm of Harrison
andFreen, railroad contractors, has in
his bssession several specimens which
viii be of much interest to antiquarians
andhaturalists, which were obtained
unh rather peculiar circumstances.
NJ Harrison's firm is the contractor
for Ihe construction of the new branch
of the Chicago, Milwaukee and st. Paul
railway from Sioux City to Manila
JUNCTION, Iowa. The road follows the
level of the Missouri river for part of
the distance. About forty miles south
east OF Sioux City, within a distance
Of four miles from Mapleton Station,
and ten miles from the Missouri river
valley, the new railway line encounters
ahlgh hill, which is the main divide be-
tween the valleys of the Maple and Lit
tie Sioux rivers. This divide is more
than ten miles long. and the elevation
varies in width from half mile to a
mile and half. The railway line
crosses the hill at its lowest point. To
accomplish this it was necessary to dig
acut sixty-four feet deep and little
oTer half mile in length. The earth
waich it was necessary to remove in
digging the cut is, with the exception
oithat on the surface, the yellowish clay
which is characteristic of that part Of
Iowa. This clay is very compact, and
de'oid of rock and gravel.
At depth of from thirty to thirty-five
feet, on the side of the hill sloping to-
ward theLittle Sioux valley, the work
men in digging the cut discovered what
Mr.. Harrbon believes to be the marks
of eleven tepee fires. A quantity Of
wood ashes was found in each of the
eleven places, varying from half a
bushel to a bushel and half. With
each deposit of ashes was also found .
quantity of charcoal.
Further abng in the cut was found
what Appeared to be the remains of an
old structure, the nature and purpose
of which could not be determined. The
workmen engaged on the cut call it
"the lime-kln." Two walls of soft
limestone, abut sixteen feet apart, rise
perpendiculaly through the clay, and
were first noticed at a depth of fifty feet
from the surhce. The walls are from
eighteen inches to two feet thick, and
were removed by the workmen for a
perpendicular distance of ten feet before
the level of lhe railroad grade was
reached, without discovering the base
of the peculiai formation.
About tixe hundred feet from the
'lime-kiln" was found another trophy.
At depth of ffty-fve from the surface
the workmen discovered, pointing
diagonally across the course of the rail
road track, the trunk of a black walnut
or ash tree, about a foot in diameter
Twelve feet of the protruding timber
was cut off, and the remainder was left
imbedded in the side of the cut. When
the axes of the workmen cut into the
tree, the wood was apparently sound,
but when it had been subjected to the
action OF the air, the water with which
it was soaked evaporated and the wood
gave evidence of extreme rottenness.
Mr.. Harrison secured piece about a
foot long, which he brought with him
to Milwaukee.
Still another find was made in this
extraordinary railroad cut. The bones
of some large animal, in a badly decayed
state, were discovered and were thrown
out on the dump-pile with no care or
thought of saving them. Mr.. Harrison
obtained the skull, which in appearance
rescmbled that of buffalo, though
somewhat larger. He saved four of the
teeth, and they are now in the possession
of Eenry Mann, of this city, who as a
naturalist has some interest in discover
ing the species of the animal whose
bones were found under such peculiar
circumstances.
The question of particular interest
in connection with these discoveries is:
What were the circumstances under
which the skeleton and tree, which OF
course were at one time on top of the
earth, became buried so far beneath its
surface? Antiquarians may also try to
guess what race of beings built the tepcc
fires, the evidence Of which is thus dis
covered, and at what age the lime
stone walls were erected. The geolog.
ical formation of the earth al, the Level
where the finds were made is entirely
different from that of the surface, Mr.
Harrison says, and there is good evi.
dence that it formerly composed the
surface of the earth. The level is about
232 feet above the high-water mark OF
the Missouri river. MilaCaukec Sentinel